Routing-machine.



A. l. FOSTER. ROUTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG-10. 1914.

1,154,752. PatentedSept. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. J. FOSTER. ROUTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG-10.1914.

1,1545752. PatentedSept. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/0 697 37 3b 8 g! g ggmgmml COLUMBIA PLANOGRAP! co., WASHINGTON, D. C

ALVAI-I JUDSON FOSTER, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

ROUTING-MACHINE.

Application filed August 10, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALVAH J FOSTER, a citizenof the United States, and resident of Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Routingly'lachines, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear and eXactdescription.

This invention relates to certainimprovements in routing machines asapplied more nirticularly to cutting grooves in stair stringers forreceiving the ends of the risers and treads. In many instances, thesestringers are of considerable length and transverse width while thegrooves therein for receiving the risers and treads are cut at an angleof +t5 more or less to the longitudinal edges of the stringer and atright angles to each other so that if the Work-supporting table had onlyone direction of movement in cutting the grooves, it would be necessarto swing the stringer through an arc of at least 90 which would requirea relatively large area of floor space and 7 would render the use of themachine prohibitive in small rooms or places where the installation ofother machines would inter fere with its operation and would also addmaterially to the expense of such operation where floor space is afactor of consideration.

The main object, therefore, of my present invention is to materiallyreduce the floor space required for the installation and operation ofthis class of machines by providing means whereby grooves for receivingthe risers and treads may be cut at the desired angle without materiallychanging the direction of extension of the stringer so that the machinemay be installed close to a wall or partition or the stringer directedlengthwise between other machines during the process of cutting thegrooves therein throughout its length without in any way interferingwith said wall or other machines.

Another object is to provide simple means for easily and quicklyadjusting the stringer support relatively to the cutter so as to givethe proper rake to one side of each groove for receiving the usualwedges by which the exposed joints are made tight.

A further object is to provide, means for automatically limiting theamount of movement of the stringer-supporting carriage Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Sept. 28, 1915. Serial No. 856,026.

relatively to the cutter for cutting the grooves uniform lengths.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the machine will bebrought out in thefollowing description. I

In the drawings z-Figure -l is a per spective view of a machineembodying the various features of my invention. Fig.

' -2* is a horizontal sectional view through the router supportingbracket just above the table upon which the stringer is supported. Figs.-3- and 4-- are enlarged detail sectional views taken respectively onlines 3-3 and l-4l Fig. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional viewfrom front to rear of the same machine except that the table sectionsand sliding carriage therefor are brought into parallelism with thebracket carrying the routing tool. Fig. -(3- is an enlarged top plan,partly broken away, of the relatively adjustable table sections andcarrier therefor showing also the stringer guide, limiting stop, and aportion of the main supporting bed. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional viewthrough the belt idlers and adjacent portion of the bracket on whichthey are mounted. Fig. -8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view throughthe central portion of the table sections and carriage taken on line 88Fig. 6-.

This machine comprises a substantially horizontal bed 1 having a bracket2 rising from the rear side thereof and eX- tending forwardly over thecenter of the bed for receiving and supporting a rotary vertical shaft 3carrying a routing tool 1 and a pulley -5, the latter being adapted tobe connected by a belt 6 passing over idlers -7- on the rear end of thebracket 2 for connection with any available source of power not shown.The routing tool 4 may be of any suitable construction for cuttinggrooves as -oand ain a stringer A- or for any other similar purpose, andis adjustably mounted in the spindle 3 to cut the grooves to the desireddepth and held in its adjusted position by a set screw 4:, the size ofthe tool depending'upon the width of the groove to be cut. The main bodyof the bed 1 is circular and concentric with the produced axis of therouting tool 4 or vertical shaft 8 and its upper face is substantiallyflat and disposed in a horizontal plane a suflicient distance below thehorizontal portion of the bracket .2 to permit free operation mountedthereon may of the stringer-supporting table and carriage therefortogether with the stringer which may be mounted upon said table.

A guide plate S is pivotally secured by a bolt 9 to the bed plate 1-co-ax1al with the axis of the routing tool -4- and its'spindle -3 so asto swing about said axis in a horizontal plane upon the upper surface ofthe bed plate for guiding :1. diametrically extending and radiallymovable carriage 10 which consists of an elongated substantiallyrectangular plate having a central lengthwise slot -11-forming oppositeparallel bars -12- at opposite sides of the pivotal bolt 9 engagingopposite ends of the guide plate 8 and also resting upon the uppersurface of the bed 1 as shown more clearly in Figs. -5 and 8-. Theopposite edges of the guide plate 8 and corresponding inner edges ofthebars -12 of. the carriage '10- are beveled to form ways along whichthe carriage may move. longitudinally transversely of the cutter forcutting the grooves and at the same time establishes connection betweenthe guide plate 8- and carriage whereby the carriage and work supportingtable be adjusted rotarily to any angle about the axis of the pivotalbolt -9 or spindle -3 most convenient for the manipulation of thestringer or other work in the progressive operations of cutting thegrooves therein without interfering with other objects in the vicinityof the machine or disturbing the angular relation between the worksupporting table and carriage when the table is once adjusted forcutting the grooves in parallelism.

In Fig. -1 the carriage and work supporting table mounted thereon areshown in their extreme forward positions ready to begin the cutting ofone of the grooves although the stringer is omitted while in Figs. -25-6the same parts are shown in-their extreme rearward position or at theend ofthe cutof one of the grooves, the carriage 10' being provided witha longitudinally adjustable stop 13 coeperating with the front face ofthe guide plate 8- to limit the rearward movementof the carriage andthereby gage the length of the groove cut by the routing tool --l as thecarriage with the stringer on the work table is moved from the'positionshown in Fig. 1. to the position shown in Fig. 2,' said stop beingprovided with a slotted handle 1i' extending forwardly some distancebeyond the" front edge of the carriage andits supporting bed1- and isclamped in its adjusted position to said carriage by'means of a clampingbolt 15- as shown more clearly in Figs. 5 and -6..

The work supporting table as 16coinprises a pair of' substantially' flatelongated plates17 and -18 and a table top -l8 all disposed inhorizontal planes the angle at which the groove is to becut relativelyto the edge of the stringer and is provided with a circular groove 20-concentric with the pivot 1-9 forreceiving a clamping bolt -21- by whichit may be held in its adjusted position, said plate 'Tt8 being alsoprovided near its rear end with an upstanding guide flange 23- at rightangles thereto to guide the stringer as it is shifted longitudinally inthe operation of cutting the grooves progressively therein. The guideflange 23 is so arranged that its front face'is disposed insubstantially the same vertical plane as the axis of the pivot -19--which in turn is located in the vertical plane of the longitudinalcenter of the carriage passing through the axis of the pivot -9 aboutwhich the carriage is movable and it therefore follows that the pointof'intersection of the axis of the pivot 19 with the front face of theguide flange 23 must move with the carriage backs ward and forward:insaid plane and that the angle formed by a straight linev drawn throughthe axes of the pivots -9- andh 19 and the front face of the guideflange 23 determines the angle at which the. grooves are cut into thestringer relatively to the lengthwise edge thereof. This angle, mayhowever be changed at will by simply loosening the clamping bolt -21 androcking the plate -18 about its pivot 19 until the guide flange 23 isbrought to the desired: angle relatively to theline of movement of thecarriage after which the clamping bolt 21- may be retightened' to holdthe plate 18- in its adjusted position.

The table top l8uponwhich thework is supported, is elongatedtransversely of the plate 18 towhich it is secured by suitable fasteningmeans'as screws -24?- sald' table top being also secured to the guideflange 23 by screws shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4 passing throughapertures -25i'n the guide flange; The plate 17- carrying the plate 18%is in turn mounted directly upon the carriage 10 so as to be movableback and"v forth therewith buthas independent lateral movement thereonforthe purpose of cutting the backsand' rear sides of the grooves at anangle with their opposite sides forpermitwise slot 26 for receiving apivotal pin -'27 on the stop -13- so that when the carriage and tablemounted thereon are moved to the extreme limit of their rear wardmovement as determined by the engagement of the stop 13- with the guideplate S the entire table including the plates l7 and 1S and top 18 maybe rocked laterally about the axis of the i pivotal pin 27-independently of the carriage --10- from the position shown by fulllines Fig- 2, to the position shown by dotted lines in the same figureso that when the carriage with the table and stringer mounted thereon isreturned to its starting position, one side of the groove will be cutaway still more and at an angle to the opposite side for the purposepreviously described, The lateral movement of the plate 17 and remainingportions of the table carried thereby is limited by stop pins -2Sprojecting downwardly from the rear end of the plate at opposite sidesof the adjacent end of the carriage as shown more clearly in Fig. 6.

in order that the plate 17 together with other parts of the worksupporting table may be moved positively backward and forward with thecarriage 10 in the operation of cutting the grooves in the stringer anclat the same time be held against upper displacement from said carriage,the rear end of'said plate is in sliding engagement with an over-hangingguide flange '29 at the adjacent end of the carriage as shown moreclearly in Fig. 5 while the other end of the same plate is provided witha transverse slot 30 for receiving a guide bolt 31 which is screwed intothe underlying portion of the carriage and also passes through the slotin the stop-operating arm lP. This guide bolt 3l may be leftsufficiently loose to allow the lateral movement of the plate 17 at anytime about the axis of the pivotal pin 27- but may be tightened ifnecessary to hold the plate and remaining portions of the worksupporting table in its adjusted position. The plate l7 extends equaldistances to opposite sides of the carriage and its longitudinal edgesare provided with depending flanges 17 bearing upon the upper face ofthe bed plate 1- to afford additional support for the superposed load,one of the flanges being extended forwardly some distance beyond thefront edge of the bed plate to form a handle -32 by which the plate 17may be conveniently shifted laterally.

Guide flange 23 on the table plate 18 is provided with adjustable gages3 l for determining the distances between the centers of the groovesalong the adjacent edge of the stringer, said gages being held in theiradjusted positions by clamping screws -35. I

The means for holding the work in operative position upon the table top-18 during the cutting operation consists of a clamping screw 36 engagedin a threaded lug 37 and having its inner end provided with a swivelhead -38- for engaging the adjacent edge of the stringer and forcingsaid stringer against the guide flange 23, the outer end of the screw 36being provided with a hand piece 39 pivoted thereto and by which it maybe operated. The lug -3'7 is adjustable at right angles to the flange 23allowing a suitable guide way -t0 to attach the clamping device forstringers of different widths, said lug being held in its adj ustedposition by a set screw tl-.

In operation, the plate -18 is adjusted to the desired angle relativelyto the line of movement of the carriage l0 for cutting the grooves inthe stringer at a corresponding angle relatively to the edge thereof;the stringer is then placed upon the table top -18? and clamped againstthe guide flange 23 by the screw 36 it being understood that thecarriage together with the plate 1'7 and other portions of the tablethereof have been previously adjusted by turning those parts about thepivot -9 until the stringer is free to shift lengthwise for successivecutting operations without interfering with adjacent objects in thevicinity of the machine and that those parts have 100 also been shiftedto their starting positions as shown in Fig. l and that the stop 18 hasbeen adjusted to allow the grooves to be out only to the desired lengthwhereupon the carriage may be moved real- 105 wardly by hand for cuttingthe main portion of the groove full length thus bringing the routingtool to the position shown in Fig. 2 after which the plate 17 ma beshifted laterally by means of the handle 110 32 until limited by one ofthe stop pins 2S after which the carriage may be returned forwardlythereby causing the routing tool to cut one side of the groove at anangle to the opposite side to produce the 115 desired tapering groove,these operations being repeated for each similar groove throughout thelength of the stringer while the machine is adjusted for cutting thoseparticular grooves. lhe remaining grooves 120 are cut in the same mannerafter the plates 17- and 18'have been re-adjusted to correspond to theangles at which those grooves are to be cut relatively to thelongitudinal edges of the stringer.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a routing machine, the combination of a rotary grooving tool, awork-supporting table movable radially to the axis of said tool andadjustable about separate axes 180 parallel with the first-named axis,but at different distances therefrom to cause one side of the groove tobe cut at an angle to the other side.

2. Ina routingmachine, the combination of a rotary grooving tool, acarriage slidable radially to tllBflXlS of the tool, a plate mounted onthe carriage to-swing about an the frame co-axial with the'tool, acarriage slidable radially of and upon said guide and provided with anadjustable stop cooperating with the guide for limiting the movement ofthe carriage in one direction, a

plate mounted on the carriage to move therewith and fulcrumed on theadjustable stop to swing laterally, and a separate platejournaled on thefirst-named plate to swing laterally relatively to the carriage andprovided with means forsupporting the work.

4:. In a routing machine, the combination of a rotary routing tool, acarriage movable radially of the axis of the tool, a support for thecarriage, a plate mounted on the car-v riage to move therewith andhaving an independent lateral movement about an axis parallel with butatone side'of the axis of the tool and a work supporting table pivotedto the first named plate to swing about an axis also parallel with andat one side of the axis of the tool and provided with a guide flange.

5. In a routing machine, the comblnation of a main supporting bed havingan overhang ng bracket, a vertical spindle journaled on the bracket andprovided with a routing tool, a carriage guide journaled on the bedco-ax al with the spindle, a carriage movable radially of and upon theguide,a'

stop adjustably mounted on the carriage and cooperating with the guideto limit the movement of the carriage in one direction, and a workholder mounted on the carriage and provided with a work-supporting plateadjustable about an axis parallel with, but soniedistance to one side ofthe axis of the too .i

6. In a routing machine, a main support ing bed having an overhangingbracket and a rotary spindle journaled on the bracket and provided witha routing tool, in combinat on with a carriage guide ournaled on thebedco-axial wlth'the spindle, a carriage movable along and upon theguide radially to the axis and provided witha pivotal pm relativelynear, but at one side of and parallel with said axis, a plate mounted onthe carriage to move therewith and provided with a lengthwise slot forreceivingsaid pin, said plate having a limited rocking movement aboutthe axis of said pin, and a separate plate pivoted to the first-namedplate at the oppositeside of the axis of the tool a distance relativelygreater than that between the axis of the tool and pin to permit thesecond-named plate to swing laterally to different angles relatively tothe carriage,

said second plate being provided with means for supporting the work. V

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of August1914,.

-' ALVAH JUDSON FOSTER.

Witnesses: V

E. CHAsE, VIOLA HOWLAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of ratents, Washingtom'p. G.

